Jamie drove his mom’s old Toyota Camry east on the I-80. Once they entered Pennsylvania, they’d start heading north.

They’d been driving for two hours already, but strangely, Gordon didn’t have much to say. After finishing his snacks, and making Jamie stop at a McDonald’s so he could piss, he’d tried and failed to video call Adam. He was still waiting for a reply.

Jamie took a long drag on his cigarette, then flicked the butt out the window. “Is Adam still in school, you think?”

“No.” Gordon scowled down at his phone. “He should be home by now.” With a huff, he tossed his phone in the backseat. “Fuck it. He’s obviously busy with something.”

Jamie watched him with unease.

“I can’t wait to talk to him in person,” Gordon said. “This text messaging crap is driving me insane.”

“I thought you liked getting messages. That’s why you’re always online, right?”

“Well, I do like getting messages.” Gordon slicked his long hair back and fixed his ponytail. “But waiting for them can be annoying. I just wish I could have a real back and forth conversation with Adam, without his parents or his classes interrupting.”

“So, what do you guys talk about for hours?” Jamie asked, concerned. “I thought you knew him really well.”

“We talk about all kinds of things,” Gordon said. “But right when it gets interesting, something always comes up and he has to run.”

“Hmm.”

“I know things about him,” Gordon said, narrowing his dark eyes. “Private things you don’t have the right to know.”

“Sure, you do,” Jamie said. “Like his dick size and his virginity status.”

Gordon gave him the finger and looked away. “I actually don’t know either of those things.”

“Oh, come on. We both know you’re hoping this kid is a beefy football player—”

“He isn’t on the team,” Gordon said immediately. “Already checked.”

“Oh, well, maybe he’ll top you anyway,” Jamie joked. “I know that’s how you roll.”

“You don’t know anything about me or my sexuality,” Gordon said, glaring out the window.

“I’ve seen your search history on your phone,” Jamie said. “Big. Young. Muscular.”

“Shit… I never should have let you use my phone.”

Jamie laughed. When he’d come out, he’d been phoneless for a short while. Gordon had offered him an old one, out of the kindness of his heart, and Jamie had made it his own.

“Adam isn’t like that,” Gordon said slowly. “He’s a quiet little bookworm. He doesn’t have any muscles.”

“But he is young, right? Maybe you can change that.”

“Why are you being such a dick?” Gordon crossed his arms. “I already gave you half your money. You’d better cut it out if you want the other half.”

“I am seriously concerned about you,” Jamie said as nicely as he could, the mentioned money burning a hole in his back pocket. “For one, I think this kid’s a minor looking to get away from his parents. And two, did I mention the minor part! If you even think of touching this kid, you’ll go to jail!”

“Listen to me.” Gordon turned back with a glare. “Adam doesn’t have a driver’s license because his parents won’t allow it, but he showed me his student ID and the year he was born makes him legal. I’m not trying to get with anybody underage.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I did the math. He was eighteen in January.”

Well, that ruined Jamie’s main argument. Still, he didn’t support Adam, the cute, young schoolboy with Gordon, his dirty, strung out best friend. He just didn’t see them meshing, but maybe he was totally wrong…

“Adam’s a sweet, sweet boy,” Gordon said, his glare falling away. “He’s gentle and polite. He’s creative and forward thinking. He’s intelligent. He’s funny. He’s beautiful… I like his vibe and I want to know him even deeper than I already do. That’s love, Jamie. I think I’m falling for this kid.”

Jamie sighed heavily. “What happens if you meet him tomorrow and he doesn’t love you back?”

“I already know he doesn’t love me,” Gordon said. “Yet. But I have some plans to convince him.”

“Okay…” Jamie frowned. “But what if he doesn’t want to come with us?”

“There’s no way that’s happening. Adam’s ready to go,” Gordon said. “He’s not going to freak out when he sees me, because he’s already seen me. And he knows I’m thirty-seven. There’s no surprises. I’ve been honest about everything.”

“So you told him he’s coming to live in a two bedroom trailer in the village? He’s excited about that?”

“Yes. I’ve told him everything. He doesn’t mind.”

Jamie shook his head. “I looked up Hedgecoast last night. The whole town looks like a postcard. I don’t understand why he’d want to move to Akron of all places.”

“You won’t let this go, will you?” Gordon scowled. “He knows where I live. He knows who I am, and still, he wants to come. That just blows your mind, doesn’t it? That someone could be interested in me.”

Jamie shrugged uncomfortably. “Maybe a little.”

“Pfft. Leave me alone, Jamie,” Gordon said, slumping against the window and closing his eyes. “I didn’t sleep much last night. Just let me catch a few Zzz’s.”

Jamie grit his jaw with frustration, but he didn’t know what to say anymore. He left Gordon alone, and soon enough, the other man was snoring.

Jamie drove into Pennsylvania and headed north. His phone gave him accurate directions, and he was relieved Gordon was still sleeping. He drooled against the window, but that would wipe up later.

When they hit rush hour traffic, Jamie was starting to get tired and cramped. He was out of cigarettes, too, but he weathered his way through the lanes and got off on the exit for New York. It was getting dark, and he had to piss by that point, so he pulled off at the next gas station and drove up to a pump.

Gordon woke up with a wet, surprised sound. “Where are we?”

“New York,” Jamie said. “You slept through the worst of it. We’ve only got two more hours until we’re there.”

“Good timing, then.” Beaming, Gordon reached into the backseat for his forgotten phone. “I need to find us a room!”

He really had to piss, but Jamie watched Gordon mess with his phone for a minute. He must have finally gotten a reply, because he started typing at once, a satisfied grin on his gaunt face.

“Did he reply?” Jamie finally just asked.

“Yeah. He said he was spending time with his best friend,” Gordon said, staring at his phone. “She’s not happy he’s leaving.”

“Oh, so someone else knows about this?”

Gordon shrugged, totally absorbed by the screen.

“Does she know where you live?” Jamie asked suddenly. “Things could get really bad for you if the parents find out where you’re hiding their son.”

“No, she has no clue where I live.” Gordon looked up from his phone, glaring. “How stupid do you think we are? The police will want to talk to Katie first once Adam goes missing. She knows very little. By design.”

“Well, that was smart.”

“Yep, and we’re both deleting our dating profiles tonight at midnight,” Gordon said. “So nobody will ever be able to find us.”

“I’m sure it’s not that simple…”

“Sure, it is. How are they going to find me if I disappear?” Gordon laughed, then turned back to his phone. “Do you need money for gas?”

“I stopped to pee, but we might as well fill up while we’re here,” Jamie said.

Eyes still on his phone, Gordon dug in his back pocket for his wallet. Jamie wasn’t normally one to pry, but he was kind of curious about what Gordon had in there.

This afternoon, when they’d pulled up to another gas pump way back in Ohio, Gordon had peeled four hundred dollars from his wallet and gave it to Jamie without even flinching. He’d then bounced into the store, put fifty bucks on the gas tank, and came out with a bunch of snacks which he’d quickly devoured.

It didn’t make any sense, because Gordon was on food stamps and he used other government assistance to help him get by, too. He wasn’t rich, but the way he was suddenly flaunting his money around was out of character.

Gordon flipped his wallet open and thumbed through a thousand dollars in bills, and Jamie watched in amazement. When he pulled out a single hundred and handed it over, Jamie had to clear his throat because he was so stunned.

“Uh, thanks.”

“Grab me a hot dog and a coke while you’re in there and get something for yourself, as well,” Gordon said, typing something on his screen. “I don’t want to stop until we’re there.”

Jamie nodded and stepped out of the car. He couldn’t stop thinking about all that money he’d seen… Where the hell had it come from?!

Inside the gas station, Jamie’s mind whirled with ideas. The money must have come from the drugs. That was the only thing that made sense. But… Gordon was small time. He didn’t have but a handful of customers, and all they got was dirty weed. It just wouldn’t amount to the hundreds and hundreds of dollars Gordon had lining his pockets.

Jamie pissed, then washed his hands at the cracked sink. There was a mirror over it, and he looked into his tired blue eyes.

Jamie had gotten six months for dealing two grams of the same dirty weed. Jamie had just started making some money when the cops nabbed him. He wondered if the same thing would happen to Gordon…

When he came out of the bathroom, Jamie browsed the hot food selection. It looked like it’d been pretty picked through, and there wasn’t much left, so he passed on the hotdogs. He got one for Gordon though and grabbed him a pop. At the register, he put thirty dollars on the pump, grabbed another pack of cigarettes, then cashed out the food items.

Gordon ate his hotdog in two bites. Jamie watched him through the window while he got the gas. When he got back into the car, Gordon polished off the coke in half a minute.

“Whew! I was thirsty. Thanks, man.”

“You paid for it,” Jamie said, handing back the change. He wanted to ask about the money he’d seen but it felt wrong to do so. He pretended he hadn’t seen anything. He lit a cigarette, then pulled out of the gas station.

“Adam’s going to bed, the little cutie,” Gordon said as they got back on the highway. “He’s got a long walk ahead of him in the morning.”

“So, what’s the plan? We wait until morning, meet him at the beach, then what?”

“Well, we’re getting a room tonight, so we could take him there…”

“Eww!” Jamie asked his cigarette with vehemence. “I’m not sitting in my room while the two of you bump uglies! Think of another plan.”

“That’s not what I was getting at,” Gordon said.” I just wanted to treat him to a little something before we left. Just to get him interested in what’s to come.”

“What, like your dick?” Jamie snorted. “Let’s just grab him and go. You can wine and dine him when you get home.”

Gordon shook his head. “I know it’s important to get out of dodge, but his parents aren’t even going to know he’s gone for twenty-four hours. They think he’s going over to Katie’s house for a sleepover. I guess he does that sometimes.”

“Did you see that in a movie?” Jamie sneered. “Because that never works.”

“It’s going to work this time,” Gordon said, putting his phone away with a smile. “His parents are very trusting.”

“So what does that mean?” Jamie flicked his cigarette butt out the window. “Are you going to take him out to dinner? Like a first date?”

Gordon’s gaze got moony. “Maybe I will.”

“I thought we were leaving straight away,” Jamie pressed. “I need to get home, Gordon.”

“I told you we’d be home on Sunday. Relax.” Gordon leaned back in his seat, smiling. “I’ve got to do this right. I’ve got to show Adam a good time.”

“Fine.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “I guess I’ll just sit at the Super 8 motel while you two go out on the town.”

“Fuck that, I’m getting us a suite at the Marriott.”

Jamie looked at Gordon in surprise. “You have the money for that?”

“Sure, I do,” Gordon said. “What kind of drug dealer would I be if I didn’t have disposable cash on hand.”

Jamie ogled the other man. “Y-you’re getting all this money from the weed?”

“I don’t want to talk business now, Jamie.” Gordon waved him off. “Just follow the signs for New Haven. We can’t stay in Hedgecoast. It’s an everybody knows everybody else kind of town.”

Suspicious, but interested enough to play along, Jamie fell quiet.

It was another hour and a half before they reached New Haven, a busy city just minutes away from Adam’s hometown. There was indeed a Marriott, and Gordon confidently paid for the valet, then grabbed his overnight bag. Jamie didn’t have anything but the clothes on his back. He hadn’t been planning on staying two nights.

He waited in the lobby while Gordon took care of the room. He didn’t want to give anyone his ID, so he pretended he was of no relation to Gordon until the key card was handed over.

“All the way at the top,” Gordon said cheerfully, breezing past Jamie for the elevators. “We got the only suite available. It’s a one bedroom with a king…I call the bed!”

Jamie followed at a slower pace. He wasn’t excited about this.

When they got to the room, Gordon went straight to the bar across from the lounge. “This is what I needed. A whole fridge of alcohol.” He opened the door and pulled out a tiny vodka.

“I’m taking a shower,” Jamie drawled, then turned to go into the bathroom. He wasn’t much of a drinker any more, but he definitely wasn’t indulging now, under the current circumstances. He stripped out of his clothes, then climbed into the shower. “Ahhhh…” The pounding water felt amazing. So much more water pressure than back at the trailer park.

Jamie spent some time enjoying the jets. He thought about masturbating, but he just couldn’t with Gordon on the other side of the door.

Once he was washed and dried, he stepped back into his shorts and folded his jeans and his tee for the morning, then tucked them under his arm. He was tired, and planning on going straight to sleep, but when he came out of the bathroom, soft, sobbing sounds came from the lounge.

“Gordon?”

“Wha?” Gordon was slumped on the couch, three mini bottles of vodka on the coffee table in front of him. There were tears in his eyes, and Jamie knew he was in for it now.

“What’s going on?” Jamie asked.

Gordon looked Jamie up and down, his eyes red and full of emotion. “Why are you naked?”

“Because I don’t have anything to wear.” Jamie hugged his jeans to his strong chest, feeling a bit self conscious. “What are you crying for?”

Gordon’s gaze roamed over Jamie’s exposed body. “Adam’s probably going to ask about your tattoos. He mentioned it to me the other day.”

“What?”

Gordon’s face fell. “You’re so much better looking than me!”

Jamie quirked an eyebrow.

“Look at you!” Gordon threw out his arms. “Young, fit, and obviously hung. Why are you single?! You’ve got everything going for you!”

“Um…”

“Adam’s going to take one look at you and decide you’re a hundred times better!” Gordon blubbered. “I’m an old fart compared to you! Out of shape and ugly…”

“Gordon. I thought you said he already knew what you looked like,” Jamie said, shifting awkwardly in front of the crying man. “He knows everything about you and he still wants to do this.”

“I know, but…”

“No, buts,” Jamie said, grabbing the mini vodkas and striding across the room to pitch them in the trash. “Quit drinking. It isn’t doing you any good.”

“I’m not doing myself any good,” Gordon said.

Jamie rolled his eyes. “You’re fine, Gordon. All you have to do is go to sleep and when we wake up, we’ll go meet this kid. Simple as that.” He came back to the couch and clasped the other man’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

“No.” Gordon drew away. “You can have the bed tonight. You probably need the rest.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you out here all night drinking.”

“I’m just going to watch something on TV… maybe get a shower,” Gordon muttered. “You can take the bed.”

Jamie sighed. He did need the rest. He was hungry, ready for another cigarette, and also tired. He just needed to hit the hay.

“Go on. Don’t worry about me,” Gordon sniffed. “I’ve got a lot to think about tonight.”

“You need to get some sleep.”

Gordon shook his head. “I slept in the car. I can’t lay down now. I’m wired.”

“Fine.” Jamie wasn’t going to babysit a full grown man. He could do what he liked. “I will take the bed then.”

“Go for it.”

Jamie left the other man on the couch and ventured into the dark bedroom on the other side of the room. The bed was huge and very empty. It looked inviting and Jamie fell into it face first.

“Fucking Gordon,” he muttered to himself. The bastard was getting cold feet now. After all this…

Jamie shut his eyes, and within minutes, he lost consciousness.

***

When Jamie woke up, he could hear the drone of the television in the other room. He rolled over and checked the time on the bedside clock. 8:44 am.

“Shit.” Jamie hopped out of bed. They were ten minutes from the parking lot where they’d meet Adam. They were already running late. He grabbed his clothes off the bed and yanked them on. His boots were by the door and he exited the bedroom at breakneck speed to get them.

Only, he stopped before he reached the door. Gordon was face down on the couch, drooling copiously on the cushions. There were more empty bottles of alcohol on the table, and it was clear he’d drunk himself into a coma.

“Oh, God, no. You’ve got to be fucking joking!” Jamie stepped around the table and shook Gordon’s shoulder as hard as he could. “Wake up, man! It’s time to go!”

But Gordon didn’t react. He snored harder if that were possible. Jamie shook him again and again, but Gordon grunted in his sleep and buried his face deeper into the pillows.

“You piece of shit!” Jamie yelled.” I told you to quit drinking! Why did you do this?!”

But Gordon had no explanation. He continued to snooze.

“Fuck!” Jamie fisted his hands in his hair. He had no idea what to do. He didn’t know Adam’s phone number, and he wasn’t sure it’d help anyway. The kid was probably already waiting…

With a deep sigh, Jamie decided he’d meet the kid on his own. It was the only thing that made sense now. Gordon would wake up eventually, and he’d regret missing the meeting. Jamie already knew how the conversation would go.

“Why didn’t you just meet him yourself?”

So, growling with anger, Jamie jammed his feet into his boots, grabbed the keys for the car, the room, and his cigarettes, and left the room.

Downstairs, it took ages for the valet to retrieve the car. Jamie hopped in immediately and gunned it for the beach.

“Come on, come on,” he muttered to himself as he wove in and out of traffic. He was afraid to get pulled over, so he kept to the speed limit as he left downtown. The traffic thinned out significantly once he reached the coast, and Jamie sped up. He lit a cigarette with one hand and drove with the other. He didn’t know it, but he looked like a badass.

Then, there it was. A tiny parking lot off the road, empty and surrounded by sand. It looked like there was a trail marker off to one side, so maybe it was a hiking location.

Whatever it was, it was the place they were meeting Adam. Jamie slowed and pulled into the spot closest to the trail marker. There was nobody on it, and Jamie got out, his cigarette between his lips, and glared into the distance. Nobody.

He turned and looked over the hood of the Toyota, and his heart stopped. There he was.

A tiny wisp of a boy sat with a backpack on the bench far across the lot. There was tall sea grass on either side of his place and Jamie hadn’t seen him pulling in. He slammed his door and started across the pavement.

“Hey, I’m Gordon’s friend. Jamie,” he said as he drew closer and Adam stood up to meet him.

“Where’s Gordon?”

Jamie barked a laugh. “Too hungover to move. I figured I’d just come see you for myself.”

Adam stepped closer and Jamie stopped just a few feet from him to drink in his appearance. Sweet-faced, with floppy brown hair that hung into his dark, soulful eyes, Adam looked like a Disney kid. Cute, innocent, and happy-go-lucky.

“Does he drink a lot?” Adam asked eventually, worrying his bottom lip.

“Socially,” Jamie drawled. “But I think he was nervous about today.”

“Hmm.”

“So, this is weird.” Jamie flicked his cigarette into the sand.

Adam watched with wide eyes. “The weirdest.”

“Listen, maybe we can reschedule for later,” Jamie said. “Gordon should be up by noon.”

“Reschedule?” Adam’s face filled with panic. “But I can’t go home! My parents…”

Jamie studied the sweet boy before him. He was small. He must have been a whole head shorter than Jamie. And Gordon was right about the no muscles part. The kid definitely looked like a bookworm with his dark hair in his eyes and his plump bottom lip caught between his teeth.

“Maybe you should just come back to the hotel with me, then.”

Adam nervously licked his lip. “Are you trying to lure me to some creepy motel?”

“No,” Jamie snorted. “We’re staying at the Marriott. It’s nice.”

“I am kind of hungry,” Adam said, shyly meeting Jamie’s eyes. “I skipped breakfast to get here on time.”

“I’m starving, too. And I think they’ve got a restaurant downstairs. Come on. Let’s get something to eat,” Jamie said, then nodded toward the car.

Adam shuffled closer…